I’m Mafalda, a 29-year-old Portuguese woman doing my doctorate at the University of Kiel with a Portuguese PhD fellowship that allows me to develop my project with the cooperation of GEOMAR and the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA). I’m doing my PhD in Marine Geology studying a natural submarine system where carbon sequestration occurs naturally as inorganic carbonate minerals. These minerals are formed in the large serpentinite mud volcanoes located at the Mariana Forearc (right next to the Mariana Trench!) and sequester CO2 from the seawater (a major finding of my research).
A PhD fellowship has many advantages, such as allowing you to manage your own project, your working hours and your workplace with reasonable independence but, unfortunately, it also has many setbacks. One such setback is that by not having a working contract with any of the research institutions involved in your PhD, it’s much more difficult to obtain funding for analyses and experiments in external institutions and for attending scientific events, such as conferences, meetings, cruises, etc… These “secondary” activities are VERY important for any scientist, especially a PhD candidate venturing into the scientific world. You need to show your proactivity from the beginning. Get yourself out there, disseminate your project, and share your results. Create your own scientific network. Establish cooperations. Many “old school” PIs might disagree but don’t ever forget that this is your PhD. It’s your time to shine. And in such a fast-changing scientific world, there’s no better time to carve your place. Back to the funding, whenever there is a congress that I would like to attend, I have to spend countless hours applying for external funding – time that I’m not spending on my research. Thankfully, this year I was awarded the FYORD Travel Grant, allowing me to participate in the EGU General Assembly 2024. EGU is the biggest annual meeting in Europe that covers all the geosciences fields. This year was the biggest edition ever, with a record-breaking number of online and onsite participants, and 18,895 presentations happening in one week in Viena, Austria!
I have to spend countless hours applying for external funding – time that I’m not spending on my research.
I’ve wanted to participate in this conference since the beginning of my scientific journey (seven years ago!), so, this was almost like a dream come true. I presented some of my results in a poster (the biggest poster I’ve ever designed), which I find the most effective format to meet and connect with other researchers from the same research field and, at the same time, perfect to hear pretty relevant questions and suggestions about your work that can help you improve in many ways. I was amazed by the number of worldwide renowned scientists that actually visited my poster. It was very fulfilling to have the pleasure of discussing my data with some of the names I’m used to seeing in my reference library regularly. Aside from the mission-accomplished feeling of presenting your work, you’ll find yourself immersed in a unique world where you have several activities and sessions happening at the same time, covering all disciplines related to geosciences. There is no exaggeration when people say you need to study the program in advance and meticulously plan which sessions, presentations, courses, debates, and networking events you really want to attend – this is crucial for one to seize the EGU as best possible.
I also applied to work as a conference assistant at EGU to cover the totality of the expenses related to my participation in this conference and was among the few people who were selected. So, this week turned into a unique experience where I could be a participant and work in the conference simultaneously. It was very intense because I had to be at my working post all day and every day, but since the environment was very friendly, I could coordinate with my colleagues and be able to participate in the activities I found most important for my PhD. Overall, I’m very happy to have had this opportunity. It was very good to see what is being studied and developed in my research field. I learned a lot, and it was very fulfilling to be part of such a huge scientific event.
Working 12 hours a day while trying to attend as many relevant seminars as possible and presenting my work to such renowned researchers was both exhausting and intimidating.
However, I must confess that working 12 hours a day while trying to attend as many relevant seminars as possible and presenting my work to such renowned researchers was both exhausting and intimidating. As if it wasn’t enough, I also applied for the Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Awards. This prize recognizes early career scientists (Bachelor and Master students, and PhD candidates, or recent BSc and MSc graduates and PhD candidates who received their degree after January 1 of the conference year) who are first authors and personally present a poster or PICO (2-minute interactive oral presentation) at the EGU General Assembly. Given how tired I was, I felt far from my best when presenting my poster, and I’m quite sure this affected my chances of winning the prize. However, I know I did my best under the circumstances, so I can’t beat myself up too much if I don’t win. Additionally, I had the extra motivation of being well-paid for each hour worked and knowing that I was gaining valuable skills by working as a conference assistant. If you lack funding to attend EGU, remember that you can apply to be a conference assistant.
I highly recommend that any early career scientist working in geosciences should attend the EGU. It’s a unique and immersive experience, where you find yourself surrounded by thousands of researchers eager to share and discuss their science, and a great opportunity to learn and expand your horizons, in my opinion. It’s also a great way to meet new people and reconnect with colleagues and other early-career scientists from your field. The numerous networking activities both at the congress centre and in Vienna’s city centre only add to the experience. Since I’m currently working in Lisbon on my doctorate project, I took full advantage of the EGU to reconnect with friends doing science in other European countries, as well as with my fellow doctorate colleagues from GEOMAR, whom I miss dearly.
Our ocean is an incredibly vast and mysterious place. And there is no place where that is more evident than the deepest ocean area in the world: the legendary Mariana Trench. Located east of the Philippines, the Mariana Trench lies in the Mariana Archipelago in the western portion of the North Pacific. The greater area of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument is made up of more than 95,000 square miles of ocean. Beneath these waters lie incredibly complex aggregations of submerged islands and volcanoes … and of course, an astoundingly massive trench.
Dive in with us to have your biggest questions answered about the famed Mariana Trench.
How deep is the Mariana Trench?
The deepest part of the Mariana Trench, known as Challenger Deep, is almost 36,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. For context, Mount Everest is about 29,000 feet above sea level, so the Mariana Trench is about 7,000 feet deeper than Mount Everest is tall. For one more comparison, the RMS Titanic lies at a depth of about 12,500 feet below sea level. The Challenger Deep is in waters nearly three times deeper than this ship’s final resting place.
Due to its enormous size, the Mariana Trench has at times been affectionately nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the ocean. This is certainly a picturesque image, but don’t let the mammoth size of this U.S. national terrestrial park fool you into thinking the Mariana Trench matches its size. The trench’s footprint is estimated to be 120 times larger than the Grand Canyon’s, and to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep, you’d need to descend through almost six Grand Canyons stacked on top of each other before you’d reach the seafloor.
Oh … and did we mention it’s five times wider than it is deep? It’s about 43 miles wide!
What is Challenger Deep, and how long would it take to reach it?
Challenger Deep is the deepest point of the Mariana Trench. Fewer than 30 people have ever journeyed to this area. The trek below the surface is long, dark and time-consuming, and it’s not an expedition considered lightly by scientists and explorers.
The first people to descend into the depths of this area in 1960 were oceanographers Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, and it took them close to five hours to reach Challenger Deep. Since then, more advanced submersibles have been created, but it still takes two to four hours for modern vessels to reach such depths. For example, explorer and filmmaker James Cameron reached the seafloor in a little more than 2.5 hours in the first documented solo submarine dive to the area, and it took oceanographer Dr. Dawn Wright about four hours in 2022. It is crucial that these submersibles descend slowly and steadily beneath the surface, as the immense water pressure compounds with every mile a submersible descends. Speaking of pressure …
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What is the water pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?
If you thought the depth of the Mariana Trench was its only jaw-dropping feature, think again. Water pressure is one of the most important factors affecting deep-sea life. In the ocean, pressure increases by one atmosphere for every 33 feet (10 meters) of depth. One atmosphere (a unit of measurement for pressure equivalent to average air pressure at sea level) is equal to about 14.7 pounds per square inch (PSI), which is the approximate standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. If you were to convert atmospheric pressure into weight, one atmosphere is about the weight of a bowling ball. Stay with me, friends.
If a vessel were to dive 2,000 feet below the surface, the pressure would equal that of 60 bowling balls stacked atop every square inch of that submersible. But 60 bowling balls is simply nothing compared to the pressure in the Mariana Trench. The atmospheric pressure at the depths of Challenger Deep is equal to about 16,000 PSI. That pressure is about the same as the weight of an entire full-grown elephant on every square inch of a submersible!
Need a more extreme comparison? If a human were to be placed at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the pressure would be equal to that of 50 jumbo jets piled on top of a person!
Do any animals live in the Mariana Trench?
The depths of the Mariana Trench come with immense pressure and extreme darkness, but somehow, life finds a way to survive. Organisms that live at an extreme depth, like that of Challenger Deep, have to be highly adapted to low temperatures (typically just above freezing), high pressure and virtually no light at all.
Species found in the depths of the Mariana Trench might look vastly different from animals from other ocean depths because their anatomy has been refined to thrive in harsh conditions. At such great depths, these animals typically depend on chemosynthesis (using nutrient-rich waters being pumped out of hydrothermal vents) or descending detritus (dead matter that has fallen from higher parts of the ocean) for food, such as whale falls. Just a handful of these animals include species of octopuses and squids, sea cucumbers, amphipods, sea jellies, shrimp, sea worms and some wild-looking fish!
In 2025, more than 7,000 new species were discovered in the Mariana Trench, including the hadal snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei). This is the deepest-dwelling fish currently known to science. Now, the fish has been dubbed “the Mariana snailfish.”
How was the Mariana Trench formed?
The process by which the Mariana Trench was created is a geologically fascinating one known as subduction. On the Earth’s surface, there are thin plates that cover the planet’s mantle, which is made of molten rock. If two of these plates collide, one pushes down into the Earth’s mantle while the other is pushed over the bottom plate. When this happens, a trench is formed from the drag of the bottom plate. This process can sometimes create incredibly strong earthquakes. The plates that forged the Mariana Trench’s creation are estimated to be up to approximately 180 million years old.
This trench was unknown to scientists until 1875. It was then that a team of explorers on the HMS Challenger measured the depth of the sea by simply lowering a weighted rope into the water. They were baffled when they measured that first portion of the seafloor to be five miles below the surface. And so was born the origin of some of the most daring deep-sea explorations known to mankind to date.
Is the Mariana Trench protected?
The Mariana Trench is in waters off Guam and the Mariana Islands. The region is protected from some human activities under its status as a marine monument. The creation of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument signified that international, national and local leaders all recognize the importance of protecting this area.
However, just because the region is protected does not mean it’s not vulnerable to modern threats to ocean health. Plastic bags have been spotted in the Mariana Trench during several expeditions, highlighting the far-reaching impact of the marine debris problem. No corner of our ocean is safe from the ever-present threat of plastic pollution. The reality of a changing climate makes the future well-being of wondrous places like the Mariana Trench uncertain. What’s more: More than 70% of the global ocean has yet to be mapped. And what we don’t yet know about, we cannot wisely work to protect.
It’s up to us to work together to defend our ocean, from the sandy shores of our favorite beaches to the deepest, darkest parts of the sea. Together, we can work to protect our ocean as a whole, which ultimately helps protect treasured places like Challenger Deep.
Find out how you can join Ocean Conservancy’s wave of momentum to secure a healthy ocean and a thriving planet, forever and for everyone!
The post The Mysteries of the Mariana Trench appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
Intro
At the western tip of Luzon, which is the biggest island of the Philippines, lies the small coastal town of Bolinao. Tourists seldom find their way here as it takes around seven hours to get here by bus from Manila. Still, you can spot foreigners walking around every now and then, but they really stand out among the Filipinos. A reason for their presence is often that they study or work at the Bolinao Marine Laboratory (BML), which belongs to the University of the Philippines (UP). It is one of the seven research institutions participating in the GAME project 2026. Every year, GAME brings together Master’s students from all over the world to experience different cultures and conduct globally replicated experiments in marine ecology.
This year’s Team Philippines consists of Jona, a Filipino master student of Marine Biology at the University of the Philippines, and Konstantin, a German student who is enrolled in the Master programme „Ecology and Evolution“ at Freiburg University. As part of GAME 2026, we are currently staying at BML for 6 months to run experiments about the influence of underwater soundscapes on the colonization of marine hardbottoms.
Where are we?
At the BML, we live in a dormitory together with many other students and scientists mostly from the Philippines and a few international interns. At almost any time of the day there is someone in the kitchen to hang out with, eat together, or simply have a chat. It is easy to make friends in this little community. The way to work is just a short walk along a forest path, where we can pick mangos for a snack and spot butterflies, birds, or even wild macaques climbing through the trees. After crossing a street, we reach the institute. But instead of enjoying the cool temperatures of the laboratories, we spend most of our working days outside, doing fieldwork in or near the water.
On Fridays, Konstantin experiences real Filipino culture during an almost weekly party at the institute with karaoke and lots of food and drinks. And Jona even brought some German culture to the Philippines by baking German bread for everyone.
What do we do?
Even though Bolinao is a remote place, it can get quite loud. Tricycles and jeepneys pass by, children play basketball in the streets, and karaoke can be heard almost everywhere and at any time. But just a few meters offshore, the soundscape changes. Beneath the surface of the ocean, you enter a world filled with sounds that are not so familiar to humans. When you dive down, alongside the rhythm of your own breathing, you might hear the crackling snaps of shrimp, the grunts of fish, or the rumble of waves rolling overhead. Together, these sounds form a natural underwater symphony which, however, can easily be interrupted by the noise of passing boats.
Marine organisms use sounds to communicate and to gather information about their environment, and there is growing evidence that this also applies to the larvae of sessile invertebrates such as mussels, barnacles and tunicates. During their pelagic life they are presumably able to use sounds for finding their way to suitable habitats, in which the sessile adult life stage can survive and reproduce. But what happens when these natural soundscapes are disturbed by anthropogenic noise? And what is the effect when the soundscape in a degraded reef gets enriched with sounds of a healthy coral reef?
In our experiments, which we just finished a few days ago, we investigated how different underwater soundscapes influence the colonization of hard substrata by the larvae of marine invertebrates. For this, we placed PVC settlement panels in the water and exposed them to playbacks of either boat noise, or amplified recordings from healthy coral reefs. A further group of panels was not exposed to any playbacks. By comparing the communities that establish under these different acoustic conditions, we can determine whether soundscapes affect the settlement of larvae.
Challenges
In contrast to the other GAME teams of this year’s project, we don’t have a jetty at BML. So, our first challenge was to build a setup that could carry an MP3 player for the soundscape playbacks, an amplifier, and an underwater speaker, which all need electricity supply, and position it about 30 to 50 meters away from the beach.
We ended up building a floating frame that carries the settlement panels as well as the underwater speaker, and combined it with a waterproof box, which was above the waterline and contained all the sensitive technical equipment. The box was firmly sealed so that it withstood waves and heavy monsoon rains, while its interior remained dry. At the same time, it was protected with a reflective car cover to prevent the technical equipment from overheating, as the box was constantly exposed to the burning tropical sun. To supply the set up with electricity, we – with the help of technicians and divers – rammed long bamboo poles into the seafloor and attached a cable to them that was connected to an electrical outlet on land.
As a consequence of this particular set up, every time we want accessed it, we either went snorkeling or took a boat. Hence, we had to plan our work according to the tides. We also needed to avoid the hottest hours of the day, and sometimes we needed to hurry because a storm was approaching. In the end, you could say that we learned to live in the rhythm of Mother Nature.
